Sunday, March 18, 2012

My March 2012 Birchbox!


I was eagerly awaiting this month's Birchbox because subscribers were given the option to have a Teen Vogue inspired box or to have a normal type box.  Of course, I opted for the Teen Vogue one, and I'm glad I did!  This month was also my anniversary of being a part of Birchbox for a whole year!  :)  They sent me an email telling me to be on the lookout for a special treat in next months box as well as giving me 100 bonus points ($10)!  Such a treat!  I just bought Juicy Couture's Viva La Juicy perfume from Birchbox and got it practically for free with all my points I had racked up!  It was $89 and I think I paid $15 of my own money.  Pretty good deal! 

If you aren't aware of what Birchbox is, check out my post that explains it here.

Here's what I got for this month:
 A full size LipSurgence lip tint from Tarte!!!!  I got the color 'peaceful'.  It is a pretty nude color that I will actually use!  Some of the colors that I saw other people got were too bold of colors for me to wear.  I'm glad I got this one!

 This is what the tube looks like.

 It's like a crayon and you twist up for more.  It looks like a dark orange color, but it shows up lighter on your lips.

Here's a swatch of the color.  It's great!  I like that it is a lip tint, but instead of normal lip tints that can be drying, this is more like a chap-stick.  It's incredibly moisturizing.

 Another FULL SIZE product!  Essie's "A Cut Above" from their luxeffects line!  This looks very similar to "In Love" by Sally Girl that I have in my post here on OPI's "Hopelessly In Love."  I've seen some pictures of this collection and I'm excited to have one of them to add to my collection!  

This is the item I was least excited for.  I already got a black one in a box a while back.  I don't use it very often, so now I have another one in lime green that will probably just sit around...  This is a hair tie by Twistband.  

 Next up is some perfume by Annick Goutal called "Petite Cherie".  I've only liked a few of the perfumes I've gotten in my Birchbox, but I like that they give perfume samples.  It's a great way to find new scents, even if I don't like all of them.

I really like the sample bottle.  Some of the little perfume sample bottles are really impractical to use.  I like the ones that have spray tops.  This one doesn't, but it has a little wand to help apply the perfume.  It smells nice, but it's not a something that I'd buy for myself to wear.

 Oil blotting papers by Shiseido!  I'm a huge fan of these!  I don't get too oily during the day, but during the summer sometimes, I just need a little pick me up to matte-ify my face.  I have some cheap ones by E.L.F. that get the job done, so I don't know that I'd spend the money to buy these because they are more expensive.  I'll try them out though and see what I think.

Here's the little package they come in.  They are nice sized (a lot bigger than any other brand I've seen).  I just wish the packaging had a little tab to tuck in so that the flap didn't keep popping up.

Here's a collective picture.  I also was given a coupon to use at modcloth.com to save $10 off of a $75 order.  If any of you are interested in it, the code to use is MODPROM.  I was also given a coupon to get 2 years of Teen Vogue for $10.  I already get Teen Vogue for free so I won't be using the coupon.  

This month's was one of my favorites!  Two full sized products!  The box's total value not including the two coupons is $38.28.

If any of you are interested in signing up, please use my referral link here:  http://www.birchbox.com?raf=gafkf.  Thanks!

If you get Birchbox, what products did you get this month?  Did any of you opt for the normal March Birchbox?

- polish. impress. repeat.

China Glaze - Smoke and Ashes

 
The Hunger Games movie is going to be released THIS week!  As obsessed as I am with the book and waiting for the movie to come out, I have been equally excited for the nail polish collection from China Glaze.  The day the collection was released, I went to a few different stores to pick up the ones I wanted.  Sadly, I have been so busy I haven't been able to share any of them with you until now!  Smoke and Ashes is the first one I'm going to show you.  It was the color that most intrigued me from the collection.  I couldn't find very many good swatches online and I know why now.  It's incredibly hard to capture this polish in a picture.  It just doesn't pick up each part of the polish.  If you read the Hunger Games, this polish represents the District 12 and their mining. 
 Smoke and Ashes is a black color with blue and green reflux sparkles.  The sparkles are a dull sparkle (if that makes any sense).  In the picture above, it is easier to see the blue and green.
 Here it just looks like a sparkly black nail polish, but I promise you it's so much more than that.


 These pictures do no justice to the polish.  It's gorgeous! One coat would have done just fine, but I went ahead with two.  It's opacity is incredible and the formula is the perfect consistency.  China Glaze sells their polishes at Ulta and Sally Beauty Supply.  I could only find them at Sally's though.  They are usually $6-$7. 

Stay tuned to see which polish from the Hunger Games collection I do next to wear to the movie this week!

Which colors from the Hunger Games collection have you tried?

-polish. impress. repeat.